12 Aug 2017

We’re just eight days away from the biggest party of the summer, SummerSlam. The RAW and SmackDown Live Superstars have elevated their game going into one of the marquee events, and on Sunday, the WWE Universe will witness two blockbuster main events.

The Universal title will be defended in a Fatal Four Way match, and Paul Heyman has already started the mind games. The master manipulator warned WWE, saying he and his client will walk out the door if he loses the championship at SummerSlam. With UFC knocking on the door, this creates for an interesting angle.

On SmackDown Live, Shinsuke Nakamura has the chance to create history of his own, as he plans to dethrone ‘The Maharaja’, Jinder Mahal. Nakamura now has the opportunity to become the first Japanese Superstar in the modern era, to win the WWE Championship.

With all that and more going on in the world of WWE, we take a look at the major talking points from this week.

Bayley and Dawson injured, pulled from SummerSlam

Last weekend was anything but good for the WWE Superstars. While Bayley injured her shoulder on RAW last week, Scott Dawson suffered an injury during a house show. Both the Superstars have since been removed from the SummerSlam card.

While Bayley was originally scheduled to face Alexa Bliss for the RAW Women’s Championship, Bliss will now face either Sasha Banks or Nia Jax. Bayley won the number one contender’s match couple of weeks ago, but suffered an injury during her match with Jax.

Dawson and Wilder were expected to face Sheamus/Cesaro and The Club in a triple threat match at SummerSlam, for the RAW Tag Team Championship. However, with Dawson not being forced to sit on the sidelines, Wilder will reportedly be taken off TV until Dawson returns, which could take anywhere between 4 – 6 months.

Dolph Ziggler being repackaged?

It has been a while since Dolph Ziggler has been seen on WWE TV. ‘The Showoff’ was last seen during the Independence Day Battle Royal last month, and was the first Superstar to be eliminated. While Ziggler has reportedly been in the dog house for sometime now, it is being reported that Ziggler has been taken off television as the WWE Creative doesn’t have anything for him.

It is also being speculated that Ziggler would be brought back after being repackaged. The former World Heavyweight Champion has been lingering in the mid card for the past couple of years, and at one point pushed to be released. It now remains to be seen what his future will be in the company.

Vince McMahon apparently fuming at Nakamura

As seen on last week’s edition of SmackDown Live, Nakamura faced John Cena, with the winner challenging Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship. Towards the end of the match, Shinsuke dropped Cena on his neck while executing a backdrop, as the 16 time world champion seemed to be in discomfort.

After the bout, Nakamura apologised to Cena, who told ‘The King of Strong Style’ not to be sorry. According to multiple reports, Vince McMahon was left fuming at Nakamura for nearly injuring his prized asset. It is also being reported that Shinsuke is now on thin ice, and any other botch could lead to Vince pulling the plug on Nakamura.

As it stands, the botched move will not have any impact on the outcome of the SummerSlam match.

Eva Marie explains why she left WWE

The red haired ‘diva’ was one of the most controversial Superstars during her tenure with the company. It was reported earlier this week that Eva Marie had parted ways with the company, as she hasn’t been seen on WWE programming for a while.

Eva recently did an interview, where she talked about leaving the company, and why she took the decision.

“I have such a great relationship with Vince (McMahon), Paul and Stephanie (McMahon)”, Eva told RollingStone.com. “They gave me an opportunity to step away and film these two films I have done already, and you never know when that relationship will come back. So I might appear at a SummerSlam or WrestleMania.

It just so happens that the wrestling craft, you have to be able to give yourself 110 percent to that. And then with acting, you have to do the same, so we decided together that with the films going back to back. I’m going to put my efforts into acting and growing that way. And then you never know: All Red Everything could come back and snatch that title.”

“The WWE fanbase is so fantastic. They’re so die-hard, and in the last 10 months, they have been asking, ‘Where is All Red Everything?’ So both our teams came together and decided we need to definitely let the fans know what’s going on.”